How to Sell Things on Facebook Marketplace and Make Extra Cash

This post will walk you through the step-by-step process for how to sell things on Facebook Marketplace. I hope you find it helpful! Thank you Facebook Marketplace for sponsoring this post.

When we moved from Kansas to Alabama last spring, I had an overwhelming amount of household and baby items that I wanted to sell. I didn’t sell anything prior to our move because I had no idea how I was going to set up our new home and what items I would put where, so I kept everything and brought it with us.

But I quickly realized that I was ready to start fresh in this house and replace much of what we’d had since we got married. I could have easily loaded the items up and brought them to a thrift store, but I knew I had the potential to make some solid cash that could help us purchase a few new things for our home that we really wanted.

How to sell things on Facebook Marketplace

So I buckled down, chose Facebook Marketplace as my avenue, and got to work majorly decluttering and making money!

I made over $1,000 dollars in less than two months selling items that ranged from $3-$100, most around the $10-$20 price point. It was a ton of work, but it quite literally paid off!

If you’re looking to make a little bit of extra cash this holiday season and declutter your home, here are a few thoughts about utilizing Facebook Marketplace to do this. I highly recommend this avenue!

3 Reasons Why I Prefer Selling Items on Facebook Marketplace

1. There’s no need to download a new app or set up any new accounts because I can simply use my personal Facebook account, both on my phone and my laptop.
2. I can view a potential buyer’s public Facebook profile before deciding to sell to them.
3. The market of potential buyers is vast because tens of thousands of people in our area are on Facebook every single day.

6 Tips for Selling Items on Facebook Marketplace

Price your items to sell.

I don’t have a hard and fast formula for pricing my items, but because I want the item out of my home, I price it well enough that it will attract a buyer quickly. I often think about what I would consider a good deal for the item I’m listing. Will it attract multiple buyers in case the first one falls through? Will this price make buyers race to get here? If so, I’ll be able to sell more items faster, ultimately making more money.

Make sure your listing has multiple pictures.

Buyers want to know exactly what they are getting before they get to your home. If the item has a defect, make sure you take a picture of it so they know how minimal or significant it is. You do not want to trick them into thinking the item is nicer than it is. Listing your item with as many pictures as possible will help buyers feel more confident in what they’re considering buying. Instead of coming to “just look” at the item, they’ll likely be coming to quickly pick up since they’ll already knowing exactly what the item looks like thanks to multiple pictures.

Describe the item in detail.

Take exact measurements, describe any imperfections, and share an accurate description of its condition. Being overly detailed in your listing will keep your inbox from filling up with the same questions over and over again from potential buyers.

Limit yourself to listing five items per day.

Between responding to messages and arranging pick up with a buyer, your inbox can quickly becoming a full and overwhelming place to dig through. Sticking to five listed items at a time helps you keep track of what you’ve listed, what it’s priced at, what price you’ve settled on with the buyer, and what time they’re coming to pick up.

Mark your item as “sold” as soon as you have an agreement with a buyer.

As soon as you’ve arranged a pick-up time with your buyer, mark your item as sold. This will keep your inbox from filling up with more messages about the items. If the buyer falls through, you can either mark the item as available, or you can go back to your inbox and reach out to others who had inquired about the item.

Stick with porch pick up.

This is a personal preference, but I find that setting up a meeting place can be quite time-consuming if your buyer is late or a no-show. I prefer to put in my listings that this is a porch pick up, meaning that the item will be on my porch, and you are welcome to come at an arranged time to pick it up while putting the cash under the door mat. This works so well for me because I do not have to be home when the buyer comes. This also works well in case the buyer is running ahead of schedule or behind.

Though the payment part of it works off of an honor system, we’re usually not talking about a ton of money here, and I also know who they are via their Facebook profile. I have done over 30 porch pickups, and I have never had anyone stiff me.

How to list an item on Facebook Marketplace

1. Click “Marketplace” on your Facebook home screen.

1. Click “Sell” or “Sell Something”.

Next, click “item for sale” or “items”.

From here, I’ll add pictures (so easy to do this if you’re listing from your phone since you likely took the pictures with your phone), an accurate description, an accurate location (to attract close-by buyers), etc.

Hit publish.

Buyers’ inquires will come via Facebook Messenger but can also easily be viewed by click on “selling” with the Facebook Marketplace app and viewing each individual item. You’ll see in my image below a thread of interest under my listing for a yellow 5×7″ rug. (Also, here’s a pricing idea. I paid $100 for the rug from Target four years ago. It’s been well used, has a couple stains and pulls, but is generally in good shape. I sold it for $15 because it clearly looks like a four-year-old rug with a couple pulls, but would be great for someone with a small budget for a rug like this.)

I will usually ask the first person that inquired when they’d like to come by to purchase the item. Once they give me an exact time, I’ll give them my address. I will also confirm that this is a porch pick-up item, and to feel free to grab the item from the porch and leave payment under the door mat.

A word of caution…

I’ve never shared online before that I was actually involved in a robbery situation (while using another online buying/selling service) four years ago after being too trusting with a couple of buyers and letting them into my home. I absolutely 100% knew better, but I just couldn’t see this situation coming. They always say that if you can see a bad situation coming, you’d avoid it, and this felt very safe (they just quickly needed to eyeball a piece of furniture they were interested in buying).

A buyer was successful in rapidly pocketing a massive amount of jewelry he’d spotted in a nearby jewelry box, but thankfully I had a hunch something was up and caught him before he got away with all of it in his pockets. (I know this sounds bizarre, but it’s a long story.) It was a beyond terrifying situation that haunted me for a long time because of how differently the situation could have turned out (Hadley was home and only four months old at the time), but everything was okay, and I learned a very valuable lesson that day.

So a word to the wise: When selling items online, never allow someone in your home. Bring all items, big or small, to your garage or outside before your buyers arrive. There are very few reasons to invite a buyer (a total stranger) into your home.

Let’s chat!

Have you ever sold anything on Facebook Marketplace? Was it easier than you thought? Do you have any additional tips for how to sell things on Facebook Marketplace?

Psst: Are you comfortable talking about money? Readers weigh in.